


The Deadlights

by Astral_Bees



Category: IT (2019), IT - Stephen King
Genre: F/M, Fix-It, I'm filled with sadness, IT Chapter Two Spoilers, M/M, Stan isn't mentioned but he sure is alive and on vacation, r + e
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-13
Updated: 2019-09-13
Packaged: 2020-10-18 00:16:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,610
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20629916
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Astral_Bees/pseuds/Astral_Bees
Summary: Richie gets caught in the deadlights and is able to change fate. Yeah, that's pretty much it. Get ready for my sadness.





	The Deadlights

**Author's Note:**

> Here I go again writing to fix a gay ship because I am broken. This is just Reddie alive and well. Eat shit canon. However, I do definitely mention what happened. Because I apparently hate myself.

Richie was on his back when Eddie got impaled. Through the haze of his own thoughts he heard his name. A weird, choked version of his name. It lodged in his mind. There was so much going on right in front of him. Too much. One moment Eddie looked so pleased with himself and the next blood was pouring out of his mouth as he was ripped away.  


The blood in Richie’s vision began to fade as he heard Eddie’s voice again. Words he had already heard. Joy and pride he had already heard in Eddie’s words. His eyes focused on Eddie in front of him and he saw the scene he had just lived through. Except, maybe it wasn’t.

Eddie was still rambling, and his words were getting closer and closer to a moment Richie couldn’t see again. He stared up and urged himself to do something. He couldn’t just lie there. There had to be something he could do. And finally, he reached up and shoved Eddie to the side, so they were lying side-by-side on their backs. The claw that would have embedded itself in Eddie’s chest swung overhead, seconds away from having repeated Richie’s worst nightmare.

The two hurried backwards, towards the tunnel they had just emerged from. Eddie’s eyes were wide, and his breathing sounded strangled.

Once they were safe enough, Richie moved closer to Eddie. He gripped his shoulders and looked right into his eyes.

“It’s ok. It’s ok. You’re ok.” Richie wasn’t quite sure if he was reassuring Eddie or himself.

Eddie nodded, but his eyes were staring blankly ahead.

Footsteps sounded from the opening of the cave and Richie’s head snapped up. When he saw it was just the rest of the Losers, his shoulders slumped in relief. They all looked like a mess, but Bev seemed the most shaken. She made her way to Eddie and pulled him into a hug.

“I thought you were dead. I thought- I really…” Her words broke apart as she tried to get her thoughts out. “I saw it. I…”

Tears filled her eyes but refused to spill over. It finally hit Richie how he had known what would happen. It was the same way Beverly had known.

“The deadlights.” Richie said quietly, turning to Bev. “That’s what you saw for Eddie in the deadlights.”

Beverly met his eyes, then looked away. She gave a quick nod and then it seemed to dawn on her that that meant Richie had gone through it too. She looked back over at him, fully turning her attention from Eddie to Richie.

“Oh, Richie… Honey… I’m so sorry.” She gave his shoulder a light squeeze.

“It’s fine.” His reply was short but even as he said the words, he could feel what had just happened building up inside of him. Richie pulled his glasses off and covered his eyes with his free hand. Bev placed her hand on his back, and he felt two other hands, one on either of his shoulders.

“We still need to d-do something about It. W-we can’t just hide in here.” Bill’s voice cut through the silence that had followed Richie’s words. It pulled the others out of their heads and they all glanced at Bill.

Another silence stretched out, the Losers trying to think of anything that could defeat Pennywise once and for all. After the ritual of Chud and Eddie’s attempt failed, it didn’t seem like there was an ending in sight. But there had to be. None of them would live another 27 years to see this through in the future. It had to be now.

Richie let his gaze flicker back to Eddie for a moment before he spoke.

“I don’t know guys. That thing seems practically indestructible. I mean, it would have…” His voice trailed off, but he pushed on. “That fucker’s untouchable.”  
Eddie seemed to come back to the moment when Richie spoke. The dazed look in his eyes faded a bit and he pulled himself together.

“No,” Eddie started, and the Losers all watched him carefully. “He’s not. The leper attacked me, and I was choking it. I could feel its throat in my hands. But then I got covered in vomit and I wasn’t exactly going to stick around after that.”

“So, we can do this. We can kill Pennywise, he just has to be weaker?” Mike looked between the others for some sort of reassurance.

Eddie nodded absentmindedly.

“Smaller, something we can fight. He has to have a regular weakness, I think.”

The Losers stood there for a moment, stealing their resolves. It was time to get this done.

“Let’s go kill this fucking clown.” Richie said, looking over at Eddie.

And with that they were moving. The Losers reached the edge of the cave and started to approach Pennywise. Their voices reverberated throughout their surroundings. And it was working. Pennywise was shrinking, getting smaller and weaker. Bill and Mike were at the front of the group, the entire band of Losers bringing Pennywise down to size.

They backed him onto the platform where they had performed the ritual of Chud. Richie and Eddie stepped forward and gripped the claw that would have been Eddie’s death sentence. The two ripped it off and Pennywise let out another sound of pain.

He was beginning to deflate, almost melting into the ground. Mike plunged his hand into Pennywise’s chest and ripped out his heart. The Losers gathered around him, crushing the heart between all of their hands. That move was the final nail in the coffin, Pennywise becoming part of the platform they were all standing on. It was finally done. Pennywise was finally dead. The Losers were free of his terror and Derry would no longer hold any of them prisoner.

“Well, that was fucking gross.” Richie said, trying to force a bit of levity into his voice.

As he spoke, their surroundings began to crumble all around them. Mike and Bill were already heading back towards the exit, with Ben and Bev following not too far behind. Eddie seemed to linger for a moment, staring down at what had become of Pennywise. His eyes still looked somewhat hollow and he didn’t seem to be moving as quickly as he should be.

“Eduardo, ándale. Let’s go.” Richie’s voice echoed slightly, and he hurried back over to Eddie when he hadn’t picked up his pace.

He reached for Eddie’s hand and pulled him along with him. The two stumbled along after the rest of the Losers.

Once they were outside, the group watched in silence as the Neibolt house collapsed. There was no mistaking what that meant for them and their fight with Pennywise. As the house fell, they all reached out to one another and held each other’s hands.

With the house and Pennywise gone, the Losers decided it was time to wash the day off of themselves. Bev was the first to dive into the water, followed by Ben, Mike, and Bill. Richie looked over at Eddie and smiled softly, but the image of Eddie with a claw through his chest circled through his thoughts. He closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath.

“You ready to go in, Eds?”

Eddie scowled ever-so-slightly, and Richie laughed just a little. And with that, he jumped too. Eddie was the last one waiting on the edge and the rest of the Losers started egging him on. There were some complaints about the state of the water and a weak refusal before Eddie gave in and joined the others.

“You know, I really don’t think it’s a good idea to be in this water. I didn’t like the idea of it 27 years ago and I still don’t.” Eddie continued his complaints even though he was already in the water with them.

Richie splashed in Eddie’s direction, to which Eddie flinched out of the way. He retaliated quickly and soon all of them were acting like kids again. A heavy weight had been lifted from their shoulders and they were able to get back pieces of themselves they had lost.

As the others were wrapped up in the moment, Richie pulled Eddie off to the side. It was time. After 27 fucking years it was finally time.

“Eddie, I uh… have to tell you something. Something I should have told you a long time ago, but I couldn’t.” His voice was a bit unsteady as he began. After what he saw in the deadlights, Richie wasn’t sure this moment would be possible. “I’m kind of in love with you.”

When Richie had finally gotten it out, he let out a shaky breath. It was suddenly too quiet even though the others were still making noise in the background. Eddie’s silence was suffocating, and Richie couldn’t bring himself to look back up at him. But then he felt a hand on his arm and forced himself to look at Eddie.

“Man, I was not looking forward to being the first one to say something. You may have convinced me I was brave earlier, but I sure as hell wasn’t brave enough to come out of the gate with that.” There was a gentle smile on Eddie’s face as he hurried through his words.

“What?”

“I’m trying to say I love you too, fuckface.”

Richie stared for a moment in silence as he registered what had just happened. And then it sunk in, Eddie loved him too. He felt thirteen again and nervous and happy.

“Oh.”

“Yeah.”

And as Ben and Bev shared a kiss beneath the water, Eddie and Richie shared one of their own above.

**Author's Note:**

> Stan isn't mentioned in here because I didn't really know how to fit him in this, but he's off on vacation with his wife. Stan is just having the time of his life and when they all call him up after they win he's basically just like "Cool, ok gotta get back to my life now. Peace suckers." He noped out of the fight. Also, Richie and Eddie definitely went to the kissing bridge and looked at the carving. And now they're happy and live together and Richie writes his own material. They are idiots and they are in LOVE.
> 
> Ok, thank you for your time.


End file.
